Vehicle wheel



Oct. 31, 1961 Filed June 4, 1958 R. c. SCHUBERT VEHICLE WHEEL 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 RC5 C HUBER T INVENTOR.

5C". )WM BY ,6. www @JCM Oct. 31, 1961 R. c. SCHUBERT VEHICLE WHEEL Filed June 4, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 RC. SCHUBERT INVENTOR.

ATTORNEYS United States Patent O 3,006,692 VEHICLE WHEEL Richard C. Schubert, Lincoln Park, Mich., assignor to Ford Motor Company, Dearborn, Mich., a corporation of Delaware Filed June 4, 1958, Ser. No. 739,707 1 Claim. (Cl. 301-63) v t This invention relatesto a vehicle wheel having a demountable flange rim.

An object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle' wheel having a flat based demountable flange n'rn incorporating improved means for interlocking the two sections of the rim together. The wheel provides improved brake clearance andsimplied tire mounting, and makes possible the elimination of the spare wheel. The wheel also incorporates sealing means enabling the wheel to beY used with tubeless tires. Another feature of the wheel is the incorporation of safety means preventing inadvertent disengagement of the rim sections and possible personal injury when the tire is being inflated.

Other objects and advantages of this invention will be made more apparent as this description proceeds, particularly when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIGURE l is a side elevational view of a wheel incorporating the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is a section on the line 2 2 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a section on the line 3 3 of FIGUREv l;

FIGURES 4 to 7 inclusive are sections on the line 7-7 of FIGURE 1 showing four successive steps during the assembling of the rim sections to each other.

Referring now to the drawings, and particularly to FIGURE 2, the vehicle wheel includes an integral rim and spider 11 and-a demountable rim flange 12. The integral rim and spider 11 has a bolt-on ange 13 formed with a series of bolt holes 14 for conventionally attaching the wheel to a wheel hub. Radially outwardly from the bolt-on ange 13 the spider 11 is formed with an intermediate annular ribbed portion 16 and an outer radially extending at web portion 17. The web 17 merges into a at rim base 18 formed with a tire retaining ange 19 at its outer edge.

The demountable rim tlange 12 has a at rim base 21 forming a continuation of the rim base 18 and also provided with a tire retaining tlange 22 at its edge. Integrally formed with the rim base 21 is a generally radially extending web 23 and an inner annular locating ange 24. The locating flange 24 engages the shoulder formed by the annular ribbed portion 16 of the spider to locate the demountable rim ange and to support it in its assembled position with respect to the integral rim and spider 11.

The web 23 of the demountable rim ilange 12 is positioned adjacent the web 17 of the spider, and the central portion of the web 23 is slightly otset to provide two radially spaced annular zones of contact between the two webs.

The web 17 of the spider is formed with six angularly spaced generally rectangular openings 26. With reference to FIGURE l, it will be noted that the sides of the openings converge slightly, and that the six openings are equally angularly spaced with respect to each other with the exception of the opening 26', which is offset a few degrees from a position equally spaced from the adjoining openings, for a purpose to be discussed later. A series of six correspondingly spaced locking tabs 27 are struck out from the web 23 of the demountable rim flange 12, and are shaped similarly to the openings 26 but slightly smaller to enable them to be inserted through the openings. It will be also noted that the tabs 27 are ice otfset from the plane of the web 23 so that they can overlap the adjoining portions of the web 17 of the spider to lock the twoV rim sections together, as shown in FIG- URE 7. When thus assembled, the tabs 27 engage a rib 28 formed on the web 17 of the spider to provide an accurate locating means for locking the two rim sections in their proper relationship.

Referring now to FIGURES l and v3, the reference character 31 indicates a locking pin adapted to be received by aligned holes 32 and 33 in thev Webs 17 and 23 respectively, to prevent relative rotation between the rim sections when the wheel is assembled. 'Ihe locking pin 31.is riveted to the end of a tlat spring 34, the latter being attached to the web 17r of the spider by being inserted beneath a loop 36 struck out` from the web.

Safety hooks 37 are welded to the web 23 of the demountable rim ange 12 adjacent certain of the locking tabs`27. In the present embodiment two safety hooks 37 are provided diametrically opposite from each other. The hooks extendgenerally axially, and have integral llanges 38 formed at their outer ends.

The assembly of the demountablerim ange 12 lto the integral rim and spider 11 will now be described, with particular reference being made'to the steps shown in FIGURESA to,7 inclusive,

The iirst step is to position the demountable rim flangev 12 with the locking tabs 27pgenerally in alignment with the openings 26 in the web 17 of the spider. It will be seen thatthe offset relationship of the opening 26 and tab 27', with respect to the otherwise equally spaced openings 26 and` tabs 27, insures proper relationship between the demountable rim ilange and the integral rim and spider to enable the locking pin 31 to be dropped into locking positionin the holes 32 and 33 when the assembly is completed.

With reference now to FIGURE 4, the anged ends 38 of the two safety hooks 37 are rst inserted through the corresponding openings 26. Next, as seen in FIG- URE 5, the demountable rim ange 12 is rotated until the iianged end 38 of each safety hook overlaps the spider web 17, bringing the locking tabs 27 into alignment with the openings 26. Subsequent axial movement of the demountable rim ange 12 toward the integral rim and spider 11 moves the locking tabs 27 through the openings 26, as shown in FIGURE 6. The final assembly step is to rotate the demountable rim ilange 12 in the opposite direction, moving the locking tabs 27 over the locating ribs 28 on the spider web 17 until the locking pin 31 drops into position in the aligned holes 32 and 33 in the webs 17 and 23 respectively.

The final assembled position is thus shown in FIGURE 7, and it will be noted that the demountable rim flange 12 is eiectively held against disassembly from the integral rim and spider 11 until the locking pin 31 is released and Vthe above series of assembly steps reversed. When used with a tubeless type tire, a resilient seahng ring 39 is provided to form an air tight seal between the demountable rim ange 12 and the integral rim and spider 11. In the present instance, the sealing ring 39 is of circular cross section, but it may be of any other desired section. The ring is endless and is so designed as to require considerable stretching to assemble it to the wheel rim. It may, for example, be stretched to twice its free length to provide sufficient tension to insure proper sealing between the rim bases 18 and 21. The sealing ring 39 may be provided at one point with a tab 41 to assist in removing the sealing ring.

The safety hooks 37 guard against inadvertent disengagement of the demountable rim ange 12 from the wheel when the tire is being inated. 'I'his might happen if for some reason the locking pin 31 were not properly engaged in the holes 32 and 33, thus permitting rotation of the demountable rim ilange 12 relative to the integral rim'and spider 11. It will be seen, however, that even with such relative rotation to the position shown in FIGURE 6 Yin'which the tabs 27 are in alignment withrthe openings 26, disengagement of the demountable rim ange 12 is prevented by reason of the overlapping of the flanged ends 38 of the ysafety hooks 37 with respect to the web 17 4of the spider. Tire pressure might cause axial movement of the demountable rim flange 12 relative tothe wheel to the position shown in FIGURE-5, but at this time -the Webs 17 and 23 would be suiciently separated to permit the Vescape-of air and the deation of the tire. An important safety feature is thus provided.

The construction shown enables a larger diameter brake to be used with a given wheel siite due to the at base of the rim. The atbase likewise prevents the tire from leaving the wheel during a blowout, and also prevents inadvertent deation Vof thetire should one tire bead be temporarily axially moved by engagement with a curb or other obstruction. The Y demountable rim iiange 12 may be readily removed with the special tools, and eliminates the need for a spare wheel for the spare tire.

It will be understood that the invention is not to be limited to the exact construction shown and described, but that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the inven tion, as defined in the appended claims.

a generally radially extending web positioned adjacent said liirst mentioned web and having a generally axially extending rim forming a continuation of said first mentioned rim, said second web having an axial cylindrical ange formed on its inner edge positioned concentrically about said annular contour, a series of angularly spaced apertures in one of said webs, a corresponding series of angularly spaced circumferentially extending locking tabs on the other of said webs, said locking tabs being oiset axially from the plane ofV said other web and generally parallel thereto, locking means betweensaid webs operative when said webs have rotated to interlocked relationship to prevent subsequent rotation `betweenfsaid' first and second parts, said locking means comprising a pair of aligned holesrin said webs and spring pressed means positioned through said holes, safety members extending axially froma plurality of said llocking tabs through the apertures in said one web and having flanged ends extending in a circumferential direction opposite to said' locking tabs, said safety members References Cited in the ile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,223,635 stinemens Apr. 24, 1917 1,414,594 Snow May 2, 1922 1,579,045 Westley Mar. 30, 11926 2,384,649 Sinclair ..-nf Sept. 11, 1945 2,433,073 Terry Dec. 23, 1947 2,652,170 Lotter Sept. 15, 1953 2,847,050 Burke Aug. 12, 1958 FOREIGN PATENTS 240,772 Great Britain Oct. 8, 1925 

